Where does “steel” come from?
steel (Afrikaans) comes from Dutch stelen, from Middle Dutch stēlen, from Old Dutch stelan, from Proto-Germanic stelaną, from Proto-Indo-European tsel- — to sneak.
steel (Afrikaans): to steal
Ancestry of “steel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Dutch | stelen | to steal |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | stēlen | — |
| 3 | Old Dutch | stelan | to steal |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | stelaną | to steal; to sneak |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tsel- | to sneak |